Motorola Motonav TN7xx & TN5xx Owner's Thread

Comments

One thing I don't like on the TN765 is when it says there is traffic and the color of the route line is to close to the red color for traffic and can be hard to see. It does show a symbol on the route though for what the taffic problems is which helps. I haven't seen but can you change the color of the route line or not?

caryrae I don't think you can change the color, but that might be a good suggestion for Motorola. I'm sure that can be an easy fix, or at least I would hope lol.

I haven't had any traffic on route yet so I have a question for you. Does it alert you when there is something on route that will affect you? Like does it give you an audio and/or visual warning? Does it pop up and ask if you want to avoid it? Just not sure how that part of the traffic feature works. Thanks!

Yes it did alert me of traffic and on that bar on the left that shows your progress on your route it is blue and if there is traffic it be red where the traffic is. Nothing popped up asking if I want to avoid but you can set an option to automatically avoid traffic. You can of course open the info box and go to the traffic page to see the info about the traffic on your route like timothyjok talked about a few posts back.

No kidding. If it can't be accurate then why bother? I did like the fact that it gave me an estimate of the time it would be cleared up. At least I could say to myself as I'm passing the area "Oh it cleared up". It's better than the "WTF this traffic service is useless"

Yeah we were about to enter the freeway last night and I saw a traffic event showing a car icon tipping over. I think it's the accident icon or something. It said it would clear at 700 and we hit the freeway about 655 I believe and it was clear.

We did notice an RV on the side of the road. I don't know if that was part of it.

So far I can't really tell how accurate the traffic service is because I haven't been in the situation yet. But I do know that the freeway was clear when it said it was supposed to be last night. So that's some good news I guess.

Some other observations from today,I was pretty pleased with the routing and the voice guidance and just the way the actual GPS performed.

I noticed that it doesn't automatically end the route when you reach your destination. When I got back to work It said "you have past your destination do you want to recalculate? " When I get home, first it is off by about four houses on my address. My address is 100 and it says my address is 154. So it's telling me I'm home to soon. When I go by where it says you have reached your destination it doesn't say anything else and the route stays in it until I put another address in. Then it will ask me if i want to cancel my current route or add as a waypoint. Not sure whats up with all that.

There was also I lot of glare off of the screen and it was hard to see at times.I found the info on the left slide out to be small and hard to read. I felt like I needed it closer and I had it mounted on the center front edge of the dash.

I thought the volume could have been louder also.

Maybe I'm just getting old and I can't see and hear like I used to.

At this point I don't know if I'm going to keep it or not. There are things that I really really like about it then there are things that annoy the heck out of me. Right now I'm leaning towards keeping it just because it does the routing so well. If I find the traffic to be accurate it's a keeper for sure.

timothyjok, I also am very impressed with this GPS overall. The routing has been great and I absolutely love the accuracy and detail of the TTS.

However, my unit has automatically ended my route every time I have reached my destination. That is very odd that yours isn't. It always ends for me and if I want to put a new destination in it never comes up to cancel or anything, just "Enter Destination" appears. Has it happened for every destination that you've arrived to?

I also noticed some glare on the screen but it was never crippling and every GPS I have ever used suffers from that to some degree or another.

Some of the info on the slideout is fairly small but readable for me. If anything isn't very readable it is the titles of each item. Once I figure out where everything is located I will just know by location.

This device is brand new, so as you said, it can only get better which excites me even more than I already am. Because I think it's great already and it's definitely a keeper for me.

No kidding. If it can't be accurate then why bother? I did like the fact that it gave me an estimate of the time it would be cleared up. At least I could say to myself as I'm passing the area "Oh it cleared up". It's better than the "WTF this traffic service is useless"

To be 100% sure that it's accurate, the best thing to do is to get to the scene of an accident early and watch the police and the tow crew clean up the accident.

I would love to have posted about my great experience, however I received a lemon today. The screen was unresponsive and not working as it should. I had to use a lot of pressure and eventually just sent it back to Amazon. Unit #2 should arrive tomorrow and I hope that it is fine or I will just settle on the 1690.

timothyjok, what did you like better about the 1690 compared to the Moto? I couldn't find anything when I saw a 1690 in Best Buy.

They pretty much operate the same way with Google/weather/airline etc.The things I liked was the ability to add custom POI files with proximity alerts, Custom routes. I could add several maps into it. I could customize the voice. It's just a lot more customizable

timothyjok, what did you like better about the 1690 compared to the Moto? I couldn't find anything when I saw a 1690 in Best Buy.

One of the biggest things I don't like for the Motonav's is the price of the map updates, way to much, their website shows $80 for a single update. With most Garmin auto gps's you can get all the mapdates you want for as long as you have the gps's for $120 or less with the lifetime map update service.

My opinion on map updates is that they are extremely overrated and nothing more than a device to make some quick cash. Especially companies who offer quarterly updates.

Now I'm not saying that they are completely unnecessary, but not at the frequency that companies push. With my old Street Pilot, I didn't update my maps for 3 years and I never once ran into a problem.

Major roads and such just don't change that often. And if they do, it often can take years to complete.

There is not a map update that I've ever installed to this day that I've actually "felt".

With that being said, I know there is a market for frequent updates, and that's fine. I just happen to not be in that market. I don't drive for a living or travel to extreme amounts.

And I know map updates include POIs too, but with a Google equipped device such as this, it almost seems like an oxymoron.

The bottom line is that if Motorola offers a free map update within my 60 day window, I will definitely take it. If not, I might wait a while to get an update. I will probably update once every couple years or something.

More observations from today,First off I used the supplied mount. With the size of the unit being as it is I was able to tuck it up to the left of the rear view mirror right up to where the windshield meets the headliner. It fit very well in this spot on two different vehicles that I use. My view was not blocked in any way and I wasn't distracted by it. There was no glare issue this way as the sun never hits it. There was no problem reading the small print and the phone worked great. The GPS signal was very strong with nine satellites available. So I'm very happy about that.

It did the same thing with the routing today. I'm thinking that if I could drive past my house a little more it would tell me the same thing it does at work. I do however live on the end of a dead end street so It's no possible. It did end the route today though.

The traffic had the same vehicle rollover listed today as yesterday with today's date and time estimate. I didn't see anything yesterday when I drove by this spot. I didn't drive by the spot today. It was listed under traffic in the area and not traffic on the route. I couldn't find anything about this incident on other traffic sites.

I'm wondering what the other plug in the back of the traffic cradle is for? Maybe something to do with the installation kit? I saw a picture of that kit but can't seem to find it now. Does anyone have a link.

With the 1690 and other Nuvi's with every map update there seems to be more and more Junction Views added. Wonder if lane assist and speed limit signs are add with map updates too. Would think that would be the same with the TN765t.

I received my replacement today and it works perfectly. An unfortunate hassle, however it is not rectified so I am happy.

That said, when comparing it to the 1390T I had, this unit is very very nice. I have Polarized sunglasses and noticed no ill effects while driving into the sun at dusk from work today. The ETA and information screen is what I use and will use mostly and it was very nice and accurate.

Obviously every GPS unit will never be perfect, and I can deal with some of the 765Ts shortcomings. Some of which I hope are fixed, or wish were a little different are the MPH gauge. On my 1390t my actual MPH would show up next to the speed limit which is nice, instead of having to find another totally different screen, but again not a big deal.

The junction view is not as friendly as say a Garmin, however I like how it still works as it still shows you what lane to be in, and if you know how to drive you don't really need your hand held as far as how to take an off-ramp. Its not as friendly, but again still very good and usable which is all I can ask.

My only gripe so far is that I have added some Folders under Favorites and cant seem to be able to delete them. I go to Edit, then click the - sign , then done. I click yes for confirmation and then they don't delete! A bit of a pain, but I think that will be fixed as it seems to be a very minor issue. I also wish more speed limit signs were updated.

I like how it starts to search for an address as soon as you start to type which should help the search process as well.

So far I am happy, and for what I will use it for it is more than enough.

I e-mailed them about how to get the free map update and got this response.

First of all, thank you for your interest in our products!

Please provide us the following information: - Date of purchase,- the version number of your Naviextras Toolbox application (eg. 2.1.1.3.1.54d.1.35c; you can find this in the header of the application; please make sure that the "Automatically search for updates" and the "Automatically download updates" options are switched on at "Settings"),- the exact type of your navigation device.

Please also attach the content of the license folder (of the SD card or the internal memory of your device) in zipped format (.zip or .rar).

Yeah not sure what that is all about. I had called once and asked too and the lady on the phone had no clue and just keep saying that there was no update for my device even though I told her my unit says the map is 2009 Q1 and on the toolbox software it says there is a 2009 Q4 map I can buy for $80.

caryrae, I had the same experience on the phone yesterday. The guy had to put me on hold to even understand which product I was referring to. Then he said there must not be a map update available and he read me the MotoExtras features. LOL.

But it sounds like you are on a much better track with your email, please post your findings here!

P.S. Is it written anywhere that we are owed a map update within the first 60 days of purchasing the device? I can't seem to find that info. Thanks!

Check to see if you are eligible for a free map upgrade. Log in to the toolbox and connect your MOTONAV device. If a new map is available and you are within 60 days of the device's first use, the toolbox will identify a new map for free download.

I just sent the info my e-mail asked for once I get any news I will let you know.

I wonder why if there are newer maps why they would ship these new units that just came out with 2009 Q1 maps anyway?

Not happy about the way this thing did routing today. 300 miles trip with multiple stops in and around New jersey,New York city and Lower CT tomorrow. I'm going to do a side by side with my Garmin 765.

I'm still waiting on the answers to a few questions I put to them. All I've received so far is they're waiting for a product engineer to give the answers before forwarding to me. The Motonav devices (obviously) aren't their first priority. Mama said patience is a virtue.

caryrae, I had the same experience on the phone yesterday. The guy had to put me on hold to even understand which product I was referring to. Then he said there must not be a map update available and he read me the MotoExtras features. LOL.

But it sounds like you are on a much better track with your email, please post your findings here!

P.S. Is it written anywhere that we are owed a map update within the first 60 days of purchasing the device? I can't seem to find that info. Thanks!

Well I sent them the info they asked for and all I got for response is to contact a different department which is the same dept I e-mailed before and gave me a phone number to call which was the lady that had no clue about any map updates. So I guess we just wait and see.

It almost seems like Moto rushed these units out into the market to me. I'm not complaining about that as I love my unit, but it seems that way.

The Moto Toolbox software wasn't really finalized yet, their website still has a lot of things labeled as "Coming soon" and stuff like that. They also don't have the car kit available until May, and even the carrying case wasn't released yet I don't think.

Also, the units are just now starting to roll out to other retailers other than Amazon. It seems their customer service department isn't really well versed on these units yet either.

So hopefully we will start seeing more support and information soon. I just hope they don't half ass the support and figure their job is done by just releasing these units.

When Home Shopping Network unveiled the TN765t on TV, the host said that Motorola dedicated more than a year on these GPS's alone. And for them to have a car kit and everything else slated, it seems like they are going to invest in and support this product. Also on their MotoExtras website, it seems like they are going to release a lot of stuff for it.

We can only hope for the best! But with that being said, I still am thrilled with my unit even if not much changed. It does everything that I need it to.

It almost seems like Moto rushed these units out into the market to me. I'm not complaining about that as I love my unit, but it seems that way.

The Moto Toolbox software wasn't really finalized yet, their website still has a lot of things labeled as "Coming soon" and stuff like that. They also don't have the car kit available until May, and even the carrying case wasn't released yet I don't think.

Also, the units are just now starting to roll out to other retailers other than Amazon. It seems their customer service department isn't really well versed on these units yet either.

So hopefully we will start seeing more support and information soon. I just hope they don't half ass the support and figure their job is done by just releasing these units.

When Home Shopping Network unveiled the TN765t on TV, the host said that Motorola dedicated more than a year on these GPS's alone. And for them to have a car kit and everything else slated, it seems like they are going to invest in and support this product. Also on their MotoExtras website, it seems like they are going to release a lot of stuff for it.

We can only hope for the best! But with that being said, I still am thrilled with my unit even if not much changed. It does everything that I need it to.

Yeah, this is just the risk we take as consumers by being an early adopter of any electronic device, not just a GPS. There is always wrinkles to iron out in the first few months (or even years for some devices) after the product is released.

But to be honest, I think this thing is pretty rock solid for just being released and with only one software update. I would imagine it only getting better (much better actually) if they put the effort into it.

Just as an update, I was bored tonight and knew that Best Buy had the Garmin 1690 on display. I decided to go check it out since I could do a hands on test with it. Please keep in mind, this isn't just to bash the Garmin. I just wanted to share my opinion for people that may be on the fence. Please note, I could not take the unit on an actual route, so this is NOT a review, it's just my impressions on navigating the menu systems and the aesthetics.

With the aesthetics, it started with the cheap and ugly shiny plastic casing and didn't end there.

The case is cheaply made and doesn't feel solid at all. Not to mention the shiny plastic makes it look cheesy and it feels flimsy. And the rounded and wide frame makes the screen look tiny.

But enough about aesthetics, what about the unit itself? As soon as I turned it on I noticed that the screen is MUCH more dull than the Moto. Increasing the brightness only made it worse (obviously). It was a big step backwards from what I have been used to over the last week or so with the Moto.

And the graphics are...well...Garmin. Too cartoonish for my taste, but that's another story and personal preference.

Since I couldn't test actual routing, I will just briefly touch on my main beef. The menu system is very cumbersome and requires more steps than the Moto. Just to enter an address you have to go step by step instead of just typing "123 Main" on the Moto and it will find it without extra screens or steps. On the Garmin you have to type the street name first, then the street number on the next screen, etc.

Anyhow, I know this thread isn't about the Garmin so I will stop there. I just thought I would share my aesthetics and menu navigation comparison with people who might be considering which one to get. But of course, the actual routing and other things will make or break your deal so make sure to try that as well if you can.

caryrae, what are your thoughts on this? Do you like the build quality better on the Garmin or Moto? Do you prefer the destination entry on the Moto?

timothyjok, are you kidding? Look at my posting history to debunk that theory, or ask someone like xxhaimbondxx that question. Or ask KingStyle from this thread. I know him personally here in San Diego and we have been friends for many years. I definitely don't work for Motorola or any other PND manufacturer.

Many moons ago I owned a Garmin C320, then I went to a Navigon 7200T which I could never find a successor for even after they left the North American market. My Navigon unfortunately got stolen so I tried the Cydle T43H and that couldn't do the job for me. I then went back to a used 7200T and once I received it, news broke that the Motorola was released. That's how it all went down.

Also, I didn't review the Garmin, and I explicitly said that I couldn't comment on routing and such. I simply posted my impressions on the aesthetics, build quality and menu navigation.

If that is something that I shouldn't have done, I will easily remove the post, I don't have an issue with that. I was just trying to help people since both devices have similar features and target the same market.

P.S. I updated my post to be more clear, thanks for pointing out that my post sounded like a review and was too harsh. I didn't want people to take it that way.

I can vouch for WizeGuyDezignz being impartial. I've seen his posts all over lately and saw him narrowing his choice to the Garmin 765T or 1350T (to replace his beloved stolen Navigon 7200T not too long ago (as I was). I saw that post around the time the some people (including papa445) mentioned this great new GPS, Cydle T43H, so I posted that on the same Garmin forum and believe he may have gone to the Cydle forum to read more about it. We both ended up buying it (and returning it!!). We saw on the same site the Motonav TN765T mentioned, and he had to have that one. WizeGuyDezignz just is looking for a GPS which will do the most for him. I seem to like many of the features about which he writes and value his review. I am just waiting for more in depth expert (cnet, Tim, etc) reviews.